The National Autistic Society says, “the Government has published promising new proposals to change mental health law in England and Wales which could result in fewer autistic people being wrongly sent to mental health hospitals. This is a huge step forward. We and hundreds of thousands of campaigners have been calling for changes to mental health law for years, so it respects autistic people’s rights. At the moment, it allows people to be sectioned because they’re autistic – even though autism isn’t a mental health problem. The proposals will change this in some really important ways.
It’s right that the Government has listened and is taking action. But it’s important to remember that these changes will take years to come into force and, crucially, won’t end the scandal of autistic people being stuck in mental health hospitals alone. The Government and NHS need to stop autistic people reaching crisis in the first place, by investing in better social care and mental health services that work for autistic children and adults.”
See the full information published by the National Autistic Society, who have been instrumental in helping to bring about the proposals.